Adventures in renovations... again

[Hopalong]

Educate me!. I'm curious what sorts of trees are needing watering?

I am a minimal [translate: LAZY] waterist. I kind of plant things, water them once or twice, and then just ask the plant, so how much you wanna live? (I can't drag hoses so sarcasm is my refuge.) My trees and plants are doing sorta well, even lushly in some areas, but in others, their green tongues are hanging out.

hugs
Hops

[lighter]

There's 62 trees mostly Oaks, Maple, Dogwood, River Birch and Redbuds.  The River Birch have many, more slender trunks, and seem to be struggling more than the single trunk varieties.

There's 3 trees, at least, with more brown leaves, most at the top, and we know there are air pockets around the roots from planting day.  Will have to get dirt into the holes as we push dirt and water down.  One of these poor trees has a standing pool of water in the well we built.  Once we shoved a branch into the soil, air bubbles came up and the water swirled as it entered the air pockets.....problematic in this heat AND we're dealing with mud, ants and trying not to burn out the well pump or empty our well.

We need a submerged electric pump for the lake, which we're allowed.  The research says newly planted trees, this size....around 25' tall, require 20 gallons of water each, once a week......20x60=1200 in the very hot, dry spells.

We're using the mule, to run the shorter hoses around, at this point.  It's not humanly possible to do it the without in this heat, like we did in the winter, during planting.... we'd have heat strokes.

I sure hope it's 🌧️ at the lake today, bc we watered the thirstiest trees only.

We're grouting the shower floor with black grout today,then moving to white grout for everything else.  Would be great to finish that today,can't get toilet in.

The vanity requires retrofitting of drawers around the plumbing.  We drew the cutout for sink yesterday.....not a centimeter of wiggle room to spare, btw.  It's a 4" spread, with a pull out faucet.  Still have to cut the legs off.  Very handsome piece, with 6 big working drawers.

Shower door arrives tomorrow..... that'll be it's own installation nightmare, drilling into glass tile.  Will see.

Exterior door to outdoor shower is last thing to deal with.  I have lots of caulking and painting to do on trim. Some ceiling repair.

Must remove last if tile spacers and wipe down tile this morning.  Will get up at 5:30 to get that done.

Foot still healing, but almost walking normal all the time.

I told DD23 to get tile choices together for upstairs bathroom, as she's been critical of my choices. Will roll into that after dealing with outdoor shed roof, insulation and finishing.....to be heat)cooled space with electricity for DD24's bf's band practice and teaching lessons, storing instruments, etc.

Their King mattress arrived, strapped to the top of my truck, just ahead of a massive thunderstorm.  They have one of the walk in closets open, and a private bedroom.  They were in a blowup mattress in the LR for a few nights. 

It's chaos, but I think I'm relatively unfazed by it.

The sofa still sits in the truck.  Need to edit closet contents, now sitting in LR.  Will be large, for the space, but comfortable.

That's my tree update, Hops, and more.

The journey continues.

Lighter

[sKePTiKal]

I'm a little confused Lighter. Are you talking about your residence or the Lake House? I thought the glass tile bathroom was the Lake House.

And maybe I missed it, but wasn't DD24 moving in with BF, somewhere else?

[lighter]

I'm renovating 2 bathrooms at my residence, one at a time.

DD24 and her bf moving in there, with youngest DD and pug.

I'll be spending more time at the lake.

[sKePTiKal]

Ah... OK, now I got it.

[lighter]

BIL and brother got the submersible pump, and BIL bought the parts and set it up with a little generator.....showed me how not to splash myself in the face with tricksy gas can refills.....use and set up, take back up the 6' shoreline.  Man....when did that happen?  It's the same with the island....one day it's a nice slope to walk and the next day it's a small cliff.

Anyhoo....today sister and I filling hollow pockets in 4 tree holes.  They're sucking wind badly.  Adding some root stimulator potion, then heading back to the house....maybe.


Contractor has sink base plumbed in and shower drain hooked up, but still has to grout shower with in white.....shower floor tiles are black in black penny tiles.  It can be done.....I want to tape off black tile myself.

He's putting in new outlet by the toilet.....for charging and likely a bidet toilet seat.

Have to caulk trim and paint. Scrape and patch ceiling in places.....paint.

Heading to clean gutters over porch.

Lighter

[lighter]

Vanity plumbed and working.  We've taken the huge, round and carved feet off a sleigh bed, to split down middle, and add height to the matching mirror, over vanity. will install black tiles/with stars backsplash.  It's grand!

The sleigh bed headboard was installed yesterday, while I masked off the charcoal shower floor, before glass tile got white grout, which pulled everything together.

I'm about to hunt down bidet toilet seats and maybe pick one, as we installed an outlet by the toilet. Toilet goes in todayyyy!  Maybe able to get working, but heavy glass door will be unboxed, and thought on only, today.  Need a special drill but for glass.

Contractor will pick up shed metal roofing.  Yay!

An out of the blue thing ... Contractor stopped, mid shower grouting, to thank me for "letting him take this job." That was weird, bc I needed him to take the job badly.... he's very busy!

The thing is, his wife has an ornate dresser, she wants him to retrofit, and install as a vanity, similar to my situation.  He sees how that works, how good it can be, and how to overcome the glitches..... there's always glutches.

Before, his carpenter's brain saw red when suggestions to cut up, distress or otherwise dishonor good wood came up.  It's like his brain jumped into artist mode, building and creating out of destruction, for the first time.

As of now, we're flying through the work....like a spell's been cast, and it's very good work.

Will begin gathering for next bathroom, and finishing shed.  I have insulation.  Maybe will use the rest of the green tile in the shed, but only in designs requiring no cutting. Alternatively, was thinking of meditation garden or pathways.

Lighter

[lighter]

Contractor. got stung badly, while mowing, day before yesterday.  Trouble breathing, huge skin reactions, pain and itching, and general feeling of being out of sorts.

He should be here in half an hour, ready to finish mirror with legs and last 2 cut tiles. 

I'll get cracking on ordering materials for shed roof and second bathroom....maybe plumb a half bath into a closet....or just toilet, European style.

Lighter

He went to the doc, on his way here, yesterday for steroids and whatever they did. 

For me, this meant a very short, mostly dialing in details day on the bathroom.  He installed all but 2 backsplash tiles, forgot his tile cutter,vso marked and took the other 2 home, a long with the carved feet, already cleaved in two.  They needed a little more wood shaved off where they sit on the tiles.

All in all, it looks amazing,cabs I have a French cleat ready to mount mirror today.

He did get the new exhaust fan ductwork replaced yesterday.....must do a little sheetrock repair.  Blech.  Hateses patch work, but don't mind mud repairs. I'll use a wet cloth to smooth those out today.

[lighter]

Yesterday was a mishmash of making material lists, starting smaller jobs,cand planning larger ones.....finishing others.

Until the shower and exterior door show up, the bathroom remains unfinished.  There's also a piece of trim contractor is fabricating for the exhaust fan.  I figure will take a much time as patching the Sheetrock, but will elevate the space.  A little sanding on mirror legs, staining and blending ......Bob's your uncle.  One bathroom down, then I caulk and paint doorframes and baseboard to put a bow on it.....seal the shower grout. Yup yup yup. Almost done.

DD24 asked if the upstairs bathroom was next.  I said it was.  She was very unhappy to hear that.  I thought, but didn't say, perhaps she should live at her apartment,since her lease ends in September.  Apparently, her roommate isn't keen on the boy spending multiple nights in a row, is problematic, so DD and boy stay here all the time.  Their space is about to be 100% finished.... including emptied bedside tables, armoire and the one large closet......open....fresh....new start together. I only have books to move from TV stand and my big closet to edit and organize.  Always something.

I'll miss the Robin's egg blue tub upstairs, but we really want a deep soaker tub to replace it.  We won't be tiling every inch of this one.  Should go much faster....jinx.

DD23 stopped criticism of my tile choices, once I began pressuring her to make tile choices in her bathroom.  My sister and AI have little workshops to instruct on proper cleaning of kitchen, baths and yard work....changing HVAC filter, etc.  They're going to have to grow up and handle it all. 

There will be lists.
::nodding::.

The journey continues.

Lighter